it is also -- was also felt in el salvador and mexico. days of relentless rain have left more than two-thirds of the libyan -- italian city of venice submerged. thousands have been forced to flee. 70% of venice has been flooded, and more than 200 people evacuated from their homes in tuscany because of severe weather. a combination of the heavy rains and strong winds did caused the flooding and many have been evacuated from the area. let's talk to alan johnston and has been covering this from rome. what are you hearing there? >> this is a kind of year when dennis knows it must brace for flooding. this is a time of year for these weeks in autumn, where large, high tide surges through the city on occasion quite commonly. but what we have seen over the last 24 hours has been something extraordinary. the six highest tides since records began back about 130 years ago. at one point, as he said, 70% of venice was under water yesterday. strong, southerly winds coming up the adriatic, driving mass of water into venice's lagoon. and torrential rain